Shoe and shoe bottom unit



"1, 1942. J. J. BROPHY SHOE AND SHOE BOTTOM UNIT Filed Dec. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l VE/V TU? Dec. 1, 1942., J. u. BROPHY 2,303,431

SHOE AND SHOE BOTTOM UNIT Filed Dec. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-*Sheet 2 2,303,43kv I taken alon Qt sneetwelv 9 a ii)" h p itgori efi e fotiand dit epportmnerefor. sm-1 mlasbiei iplastic h "the stnietiire: ar'e'ahighly i are?! a'y be iunited th 0 l'fuui'iength a ful eng-tmimfimole or I "dusli however? nh-yiims d shankiiriit m'aiyibimmpioyeh as om "ln'ierit a'n the hel's hndfi shank hiriliicliseithe transparency 's'ibi theiibotfimm: fath portionilaf therfooimwhile Preierasblwaszsliowmithe 1 A niade lexceptionally "a -bottom iifithei'i-nstepapor-tion of the shoe iwilla 'lieieexiaosedgtomiew -e-traiispaient shardhzextensio .Df? the en wlinthetread iiaces flth heelnsirestel floo or thea grour'idze 'I hifldllfll'filld ylish pp'earaneiof the shbearriayrbe stiiliturther enhancer: bymaling 'thetreadi:sbleiand the upper, as well as the heel and shank structure itself, of transparent fittial. 1

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved heel and shank unit as it appears from a point of observation located below and rearwardly of the unit; a;

molding t state or the unit may be cut or otherwise shaped 50 from the material while the latter is in a. hardened state. Y

The shank portion ll of the unit extends forwardly and downwardly from the upper breast portion of the heel into the plane of the tread 6 portion l6 and, in width and marginal contour abend freely I ments of the foot in walking."

the-full length the extension i4 corresponds to that of the shank portion of a, conventional close edge outer sole.

Thus, the shank extension I4 is adapted to untransversely curved to'conform to theficonvexity of the bottom of the foot. The lower airmen of the shank extensionis transverseiy-convqx. as

also shown in Fig. 6; a The breast face 24 of the heel is a plane surface, except in the upper-.por-jp tion of'the heel where it is-curved to blend .-with the curvature of the'lowe'r surface of the isiiank extension 14. Althoughg'as shown inthe draw ings, the shank extension l4is quite Bandeau" is substantially rig'idand is thus. adaptedg*with out reinforcement, to provide mm and adequate.

support forthe arch of the foot. At its forward extremity, the shank extension is formed with a flat sole-attaching face I! which lies in a plane parallel to the bottom surface of the tread portion- IQ of the heel and is located above that plane a distance corresponding to the thickness of a forepart tread solesuch as the sole 2! (Figs. 4 and which, as shown, is attached, by means of cement 30, to the face 20. Whenithe tread sole 28 has been thus attached to the shank extension 14 a full length shoe bottom unit is pro-: vided and it is only necessary to secure an'upper to thisunit to make up a shoe the bottom shank portion of'which will consist only of the transparent shank extension of the heel andv shank unit. l

- In order that the tread portion ll of the heel,

which as already explained is integralwith the latter, shall have the appearance of an attached top .lift, the side and rear surfaces 32-1 of the 'tread portion it are inclined-"heightwise oi the heel at a'substantial angle to the adjacent rear and side surfaces of thejlower portion of the heel body and meet the latter surfaces so as to form a clearly defined line 34 which'is parallel to the bottom face of the tread'portion I0. "-This line 34' is' spaced above the tread face of the portion it approximately three-eighths of an inch, a distance equal to the thickness of a conventional top lift. Accordingly, the; line 34 simulates, a top-lift Joint atthe side and rear surfaces of the heel while a line 35',- which may be engraved or indented in the heelmaterial extends across the plain breast face of the heel to'simulate a top-lift Jointjin that portion of the heel. I

' The forepart sole 28 shown in "Figs. ,4 and 5 maybe madeof transparent materialI-for exsifiple, vinylite resin, whichhas been found to have suitable wearing qualities and which is sufficiently. flexible to enable the forepart sole to to accommodate the flexing move- In making a shoe embodying bottom unit ofFig. 4 the upper may be cut,.as

I I shown in Fig. 5, to provide an open toe vamp ll and an open heel back partor quarter flgthe vamp having lntumed lower marginalportions 40 (Fig. 7) ,which, as shown, may be secured by means of cement 42 to the sole 24 and the back part 38 having narrow lntumed bottom flanges 44 (Fig. 6) which, as shown, may be secured by 5 means of cement 40 to the shank extension I4 of the heel unit. ..Advantageously the back part I. may be formed with an ankle strap 48 to hich may-be secured the upper extremity of instep strap [0' formed as-Tpart of the vamp. A forepart sock lining I! may be employed to M cover the inturned marginal portions ofthe vamp. To enhance the novel and ultra fashioni'aable'appearance of the shoe one or'both of the upper parts II and II, as well asthe sock lining i5 12-, may also be made of transparent material sucnumuce resin. My

, provedheel' and shank structure, either i by itself or-incor'ribinition with a'forepart tread sale as illustrated inl ig. 4," may be attached as a unit to the bottom, of a shoecomprising an upper. having portions which entirely overlie the lower shank portion of an insole or equivalent inside bottqn 'member, in iwhich'case'the transparentshank extension of my heel and shank structure will serve to reveal the finish and workmanship on the shank portion of the shoe-bottom and also, to, protect that portion of the shoe, and. maintainit permanently in a clean and attractive .-condition.- a. 4 v Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of thegUnited. States is;

A shoe; comprising-asubstantially rigid rear part-,bottomunitcomposed entirely of trans- .35, parentplastic material of such clearness as to renderall portions of :the unit clearly. visible from anyselected viewpoint, said unit constituting'the only bottom element rearwardly of the Vforepart of the shoe and consisting of a high 10. heel having formed integrally therewith a bottom-portion simulating an attached top lift and a shank extension constructed and arranged to underlie and-afford support for the arched portion of-afoot as far, forwardly as the ball, said is-extension having a sole attaching face at its forward extremity and the upper surfaces of said heel andsaid extensibn being continuous and i-being-shaped to conform to the curvature of the correspondingportions of the bottom of the foot, 50 aflexible transparent tread sole of plastic material arranged to underlie the forepart only of the foot and having its rear portion secured to said attaching face, a transparent upper comprising a vamp having intumed bottom margins secured to said tread sole and an open heel and openshank quarter ha'ving narrow lntumed bottom flanges secured to said shank extension, and a transparent fcrepartsock lining secured to said tread ,sole,"-said sock lining covering the bottom so margins of saidivamp and overlapping the for- -.ward .extremityronlywof said shank extension thereby leavingsubstantially the entire upper surface of saidlbottom unit exposed for direct contact with the foot so as to render the bottom of the foot clearly visible through said unit.

JOHN J. BROPHY. 

